In the End

37: I Thought I’d Be More Scared

Quietly pushing the door to his hotel room closed, Gerard stepped tentatively inside, his blue eyes searching the room for Ariella. It had been a couple of hours, after he and Ariella had spoken on the touchline, he had spent a while with his teammates, celebrating their win, but with the celebrations having died down for the night, he had found his way to their hotel room, itching to catch up with the brunette.

He knew that he had surprised her, as soon as the words asking her to move in with him had fallen out of his mouth, the surprised expression which had been etched onto her features had been difficult to miss, and he wanted to talk to her about it, wanting to put forwards his case that it was a good step for them to make before she had the chance to tell him that she wasn’t quite ready for it. He knew what her answer was likely to be, since they’d reconciled, she had been slightly more cautious in their relationship than he had been, but he had wanted to suggest it, even if he was almost certain that she would insist that it was too soon. He wanted her to know that he was more than ready to take the next step forwards in their relationship.

Pulling off his jacket, he hung it over the back of the couch before he quietly padded through towards the bedroom, his eyes quickly landing on Ariella who was sat up on the bed, her eyes fixed on the tablet which she held in her hands. Quirking a small smile, he watched her quietly for a few seconds before he lifted his hand, gently tapping it against the door.

Ariella flinched at the sound, caught off guard by it, before she lifted her head, a faint smile pulling at the corner of her lips. “You know what the time is, right?” she joked weakly.

Gerard nodded. “The guys were pretty excited” he mused “But I am sorry I didn’t get back sooner. I’m surprised that you’re not asleep” he added.

Ariella shrugged. “I figured I should wait up for you” she mused “Besides, after...what you said earlier, I don’t know how much sleep I would have gotten” she added, her eyes fixed on her lap.

Gerard breathed out a small nervous laugh, his hand rubbing the back of his neck sheepishly. “You heard that?” he quipped “I was kind of hoping that you’d missed it and we could avoid having a pretty awkward conversation” he joked feebly.

Ariella smiled thinly at his joke before a slightly awkward silence settled over the two of them, something which caused Gerard to shake his head, his feet dragging him towards the bed.

Ariella watched him across the room quietly before she let out a sigh, her fingers fidgeting shyly with the duvet cover. “Did you mean it?” she murmured, disturbing the quiet which had settled over them.

Gerard, who’d sat down on the opposite side of the bed to her, startled slightly at the sound of her voice before he turned, offering her a look over his shoulder. “What?” he asked.

“What you asked earlier” Ariella clarified, briefly looking up at him “Was that you actually asking me?” she posed.

Gerard glanced at her, mulling the question over for a few seconds, before he nodded his head gently. “I meant it” he breathed “I mean, I know it’s not something we’ve talked about, but...I meant it” he insisted.

Ariella merely nodded her head quietly, her eyes drifting back towards her hands which still shyly pulled at the duvet cover.

Gerard watched the movement of her hands for a couple of seconds before he swiveled in his seat, moving to take her hands in his. “I’m sorry” he murmured.

“Sorry?” Ariella asked.

“I’ve clearly caught you off guard, or said something that’s bothering you, and I am sorry for that” Gerard clarified quietly, his thumb gently skimming over the back of her hand “I just...I know we’ve only been back together for a few months, and I know you said that you wanted to hold off for a while, but, to me at least, this move makes sense for us right now. If it doesn’t for you, then we can just forget that I said anything. I won’t hold it against you” he added, forcing a faint smile onto his face.

Ariella smiled back at him shyly. “I’m glad to hear that” she breathed.

Gerard paused for a second, allowing her words to hang around them, before he nodded stoically. “So it’s a no then?” he posed.

“I didn’t say that” Ariella countered.

“But it’s what you’re heading towards” Gerard retorted “You’re glad that I won’t hold it against you because you’re going to say no” he added.

“Geri...”

“I get it, Ella” Gerard interrupted, shaking his head “I mean, we’ve only back together for six months, and it’s pretty fast to be thinking about moving in together. I get it if this isn’t what you want to do right now” he explained.

Ariella stared up at him for a moment before she gently lifted her hand, cupping it around his cheek. “Did I say no?” she posed.

“Ella...”

“Did I say those words, Geri?” Ariella interjected softly.

Gerard shook his head. “No” he murmured.

Ariella gently skimmed her thumb over his cheek before she quirked a soft smile. “You surprised me” she murmured “I mean, when you said that, I didn’t quite know what to say, or how to feel, but the more I thought about it...the more it started to make a lot of sense to me” she added quietly.

It had surprised her, when Gerard had first asked, she had been caught more than slightly off guard by the idea, but the more she had thought about it, the more it had started to make sense to her. She liked being around him, she liked them when they were together, and whilst it was a little quicker than she would have liked, she knew that it made sense. It was a good step forwards for the two of them to make.

Gerard tilted his head, a slightly confused frown pulling at the corner of his mouth. “What?” he breathed softly.

Ariella shrugged. “I thought I’d be more scared” she admitted “I thought I’d sit here and tell you that it was all too soon and that we should focus on trying to make us better before we started to take steps forwards, but honestly? I think we’re pretty amazing and maybe...maybe it is time that we thought about taking a step forwards” she breathed with a coy grin.

Gerard merely frowned at her, something which made Ariella giggle. “I can change my mind if you want me to” she joked, gently pushing the hair off of his forehead.

“You...you really think this is a good idea?” Gerard breathed.

Ariella nodded. “I do” she confirmed.

“You want us to move in together?” Gerard asked, wanting to be certain that he understood what she was saying to him.

“I want us to move in together” Ariella confirmed with a bright smile, her fingers still happily messing with his hair.

Gerard stared at her for a few seconds, trying to wrap his head around her words, before he gently grabbed a hold of her waist, pulling her towards him before he pressed her back gently into the mattress. Ariella let out a small squeak, surprised by the sudden embrace, before she tried to respond, something which was prevented as Gerard leant into her, kissing her warmly for a few seconds before he leant back, pressing his forehead against hers. “You mean it?” he breathed, pecking her lips a couple of times.